Environment Impacts
by an Cheo an Glen
Summary: We all know Harry's story, his fight against evil and his run ins with his classmates; but what of the flipped side of the coin. Join Clarissa as she tries to navigate through her Hogwarts years when living in a House drowning in tradition but deeply divided. For a House that thrives on loyalty, can she avoid the beckoning war.


I own nothing in this story apart from my original characters

* * *

"Do not nod, do not smile, do _not_ show emotion, and whatever you do, do not give away your allegiances; for when the time comes for battle lines to be drawn you will have managed to stay alive long enough to make your decision on whose side you are truly on."

The parting words of my mother still rung in my ears as I stepped out of the boat; the chatter dulled behind me as our excitement turned to aww as we looked up at the magnificent castle. Next to me the girl I decided to sit with on the train began shaking; Monica was a petite girl with dark auburn hair, and big doleful eyes giving the impression that a good strong wind would blow her away. But her posture was demanding, her grin mischievous, and her walk was strong and determined; it would be safe to assume that with some training up, Monica would be a force to be reckoned with.

We chattered about anything and nothing as we walked towards the castle doors, just as we had done on the train, behind me a lull was beginning to fall upon the first years as our excitement gave way to nervousness, everyone wondering where they would belong. We did not have too long to think about it however, as before long Professor McGonagall was escorting us into the Great Hall.

I didn't pay much attention to the sorting, I knew where I was going, where my entire family had gone and I really could not see the sorting hat putting me anywhere else. I did look up for a moment when Professor McGonagall called for Byrne, Monica; her sorting took mere seconds before the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR". I clapped along with everyone else, I gave her am encouraging smile as she walked passed on her way to the scarlet and gold clad table; I was truly happy for her, she had confessed on the train her hopes to be sorted into the same house as her grandfather - she had gotten her wish.

After she told me about her wish to be a Gryffindor I had begun thinking how my family would react if I was not in the same house as the rest of them, disappointment? Would they be encouraging? Or completely indifferent to the whole situation? For my parents never professed any desires for me to be placed in any particular house; all they ever advised of me was caution, caution and contemplation in all my choices.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the call:

"Fawley, Clarissa".

 _Do not show emotion, do not show emotion_. My mother's voice continued to chant in my head as I made my way to sit beneath the sorting hat. "Ah, right then, a Fawley, it has been awhile since we had one of you; I see great ambition in you, a thirst to prove yourself, there's only one place for you:

"SLYTHERIN!" The room came back to into focus as the hat was lifted from my head, the cheers from Slytherin house called me to them as I hopped from the stool grinning before making my way to the end of the table. There would be no need to worry about what my family think for I knew, they would be proud.

My new housemates were incredibly welcoming, the older students barely holding back their stories and advice until the last student: Weasley, Ginevra was sorted to Gryffindor. The table erupted into chatter as the tables filled with more food than I had ever seen. The elder students pointed out the professors and what they taught, the Head of Houses, ours being Professor Snape and also introduced us to all the prefects. Too soon, the fifth year prefects were summoning all the first years to escort them to their dormitories.

My father had told me enough about the castle to know that I would be heading down to the dungeons, though he had never described the Slytherin's common room in detail. As we were herded into the middle of the large room gasps of awe came from the group; black leather chairs surrounded a lit hearth looking so comfortable you could sink right into them, the common room was cast in a deep green late, an effect from being underneath the lake the prefect had told us, the clear windows giving no light but exposing the wondrous sea life thriving in the lake. It was glorious.

The prefect that had escorted us looked very pleased with our reactions and with the parting words that this batch better live up to expectations we were sent to our dormitories. The dormitories were very like the common room, tinted green and long windows; the four poster beds were large with green hangings the bedcovers trimmed with silver. The three other girls and I wasted no time diving into our beds, the excitement of the day dying away leaving exhaustion and nervousness for our first day of classes.

...

If I had to describe the first day of classes in one word it would be, interesting. I had woken in my dormitory happy with the Hats choice and excited to start my lessons. The majority of Slytherins were nothing but friendly, many, who I presumed to be prefects, offering to help with any issues myself and the other first years might have. The common room was tinted in the most interesting green light due to being situated under the lake, all the first years had gasped in awe as the giant squid followed not long afterwards by a mermaid swam by the common room window; no other students in the school would be able to experience this view.

Once I left the Slytherin common room with my roommates however, interesting took on a whole new meaning.

Finding the Great Hall wasn't particularly difficult when the only way from the dungeons was up, finding our classes however wasn't as easy. I stuck to my housemates as much as possible but even so, we had to take our prefect's offer for help an embarrassing amount of times, only arriving outside designated classrooms just on time.

The classes themselves were intriguing, I had been looking forward to finally doing some magic of my own. My mother had tried to teach me some simple spells over the summer that would make slipping into Hogwarts life easier; She had first taught me reparo as she was under the impression I was going to suddenly develop clumsiness from being away from her presence, delens, the eraser spell in case I made any massive mistakes while doing my homework and I wouldn't have to waste parchment, and scourgify, if connected to my hypothetical new found clumsiness I spill something on myself. These spells while as mother had said would be helpful, were quite difficult and a quick glance at my textbooks proved they were more advanced than what was expected of first years and so I strived to not need to use them to prevent myself looking like a fool if I tried to cast one.

Our last class of the day was History of Magic with the Gryffindors, and as we waited inside the room for the class to start, I caught my first glimpse of what my life would become.

My roommate Louise Montague, a tall girl with a long haughty face had her narrow eyes fixed on one of the students to the left of us.

"Do you recognise him?" I took a closer look at the boy; his blonde hair curled slightly and he seemed to be of a more nervous disposition. Most families in the magical world would have met at some point in their lives and therefore for someone to be unrecognised could only mean one of two things: he was a half-blood raised in muggle society or a muggleborn. And so I shook my head, "I've never seen him before."

Louise's grin turned nasty, "Hey Robinson! I didn't know you fancied the company of filth." There was a laugh from behind me from some of the other Slytherins; I forced my face to stay blank, _don't show emotion, don't show emotion_. The boy had stiffened, he may not understand what Louise meant by filth but he wasn't stupid, he knew the comment had been directed at him.

The Montague's were well known and quite outspoken about not leaving 'the other sort in'. I was five years old the first time I heard my grandfather call someone a mudblood; He had taken me to Diagon Alley for the day while my parents prepared for the new baby that was due at any time. My grandfather pointed out many of his associates on our way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour quite content when suddenly his face darkened and a sneer that I had never thought my soft spoken and jovial grandfather could possess grew on his face.

"That Clarissa is Helen Hegarty, she somehow got her hands on a position within the Ministers office helping with approving and enforcing new legislations, the same position your dear Uncle Albert was interviewed for; gotten through underhanded tricks I would imagine, filthy mudblood." I had been confused at what the word meant, taking a closer look at the woman as we past she looked like every other on the street, nicely dressed in robes that were certainly not filthy. I asked my father what the word meant the moment I got home, he had looked uncomfortable at first before sitting me down out of earshot of my mother.

"It's not a nice word to use in public Clare, and could get you in trouble if heard by the wrong people; a mudblood is a magical person who is born to muggle parents, kind of like a squib but opposite. There are many people who believe they shouldn't be allowed to enter our world because they are unnatural, no one knows how they manage to garner magic."

"But no one knows how squibs are born with no magic, you said." Father looked sharply at me.

"Yes and look how we treat them; I know we told you that your mother had no siblings but that's not really true, you have an aunt on your mother's side, called Diana. When her eleventh birthday came along and it was clear that she was never going to be able to perform magic she was cast out, sent to an orphanage I think, you mother never speaks of her and you are not allowed to bring her up, not a nice topic you see."

"So squibs and mudbloods are bad people?"

"Squibs and muggleborns Clarissa, do not get into the habit of using that word, it could cause you big trouble when you are older if you get marked as one of those who use it; but anyhow, no muggleborn has ever done anything to me and I have never done anything to a muggleborn, whether they are allowed into our world or not is not going to affect me in any way. That fight is best avoided Clare, when you are older you may be asked whether you believe they are unnatural or not but I would advise you against giving an answer of either; just stay out of it let the usual fools fight it out.

"Shove off Montague!" I was jolted out of my thoughts by Robinson who had turned to face them his contempt clear in his voice; I caught Monica's eye, ready to at least share an exasperated look with my friend from the train. I definitely was not expecting the ferocious glare I received in return, I had no idea what I had done for Monica to cause her reaction. The encounter had me so puzzled that I could not concentrate on Binn's lecture and made up my mind to corner her after class.

I regretted my decision almost immediately when I ran to catch up to Monica and called out to her. Monica turned towards me with a look of the utmost contempt.

"What do you want Fawley? Come to have another go?" I stopped in my tracks completely confused. Another go? I didn't even remember having a go in the first place; I had followed my mother's advice, I did not laugh, I did not smile and I certainly did not join in yet here was Monica Byrne stating that I had been in the thick of it. It appeared Monica mistook my shocked silence for nervousness and sneered "What's wrong Fawley, not brave now that the rest of your posse isn't here, why don't you and your bigotry ideals just go away, Slytherin scum." With that Monica turned on her heel and stormed off leaving me staring after her in continued shock.

I had no idea how to react, I may have grown up in pureblood more than magical society, but I knew my family cared very little in the blood purity debate, their main focus was that all members of the Fawley family made something of themselves, where it was senior members of the Wizengamot or simply a highly successful shop with impeccable reputation, yet here was a girl who she knew less than 24 hours where they had nothing but pleasant conversation begin to spout unfounded accusations all because she wore the same crest as the culprits; to say she was angry was an understatement.

"I wouldn't let that get to you." I jumped at the voice behind me; I turned to see one of my roommates. There was only one word to describe Astoria Greengrass and it was sweet, from her deep gold hair, and kind smile and she was not one of the Slytherins who had laughed along with Louise.

"My sister told me this happens; it's the reason we Slytherins must stick together, particularly when faced with an outspoken Gryffindor."

"It was so weird, I spent the whole journey here with that Byrne's girl and we had a great time;" I sighed trying to get a hold of my emotions "I thought we were friends."

Astoria smiled sadly at me, "Gryffindors do not make good friends for Slytherins, we clash too much. Hey! Why don't I introduce you to my sister Daphne, she's in second year, she'll give you the full 'How to survive Hogwarts when the whole school hates you guide," I laughed;

"Sure, why not" Astoria grinned before linking arms and we walked back to the common room.

Daphne was the older replica of her sister right down to the same soft smile. She was with her friends, Blaise Zabini and Tracey Davis. They all looked very sympathetic as Astoria regaled what had happened before and after History of Magic.

"Everyone expects us all to be evil You Know Who wannabes but in reality there is only a select few who truly believe in that ideology." Daphne sighed while herself Blaise and Tracey all looked to the far corner of the common room, following their gaze I saw a blonde boy who appeared to be holding court. He looked very familiar, the pointed chin and superior look could only be from one family...

"That's Draco Malfoy." Blaise confirmed, "Nasty bugger really but a coward without his two henchmen", he pointed to who I assumed were Crabbe and Goyle.

"It's students like Malfoy who give us all a bad name, every year has one."

"Every House too but they're too scared to admit to that." Tracey grumbled.

"The best thing you can do is identify who the wannabes are in your year and steer clear; not rudely though, stay civil with them. You may not agree with what they believe in but we Slytherins only have each other, the rest of the school would rather we were all thrown into a fiery pit."

"Except Hufflepuffs, it could be worth your while making friends with them..." Blaise and Daphne looked at Tracey in amusement.

"What? I don't care what you think, Ernie Macmillan is one hilarious fellow."

We spent a good hour talking with Astoria's sister and her friends before we all headed to the Great Hall for dinner; I forced myself not to look towards the Gryffindor table, it wouldn't do me any good and besides it appeared I had made quite a few new friends right here in my own house.

... ..

" _Remember Clarissa, your emotions and your feelings are your weakness and can be a great weapon to be used against you by your enemies, that is why you should never show how you are feeling to anyone other than those you completely trust; hiding your emotions and feelings is the best way to prevent your enemies finding an opening to attack you."_

As we progressed through September and October I managed to follow through with my mother's advice; I had been able to learn quickly with a teacher like Blaise Zabini, he always looked bored while in the company of Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle but none of them suspected that he didn't agree with the rubbish they spouted, for how could they, he merely looked bored. I had taken Blaise's advice and worked out the wannabes, it was comically easy to identify them, for Louise Montague and Stephanie Rookwood could always be found fawning over Malfoy, and Zacharias Dorkins and Anthony Madigan would be hanging off his every word. I made sure not to ignore them, I would stay civil with them as they did have their perks, whether it was loudly singing the new Weird Sisters track completely out of tune, or the boys' hilarious re-enactments of Professor Lockhart's abysmal Defence classes. I surrounded myself with my roommates, a protective blanket against the sneers of the other houses while walking through the corridors, although I had to laugh along with the rest of the Slytherins at the students who would stop in fright at the sight of them and run off in the other direction; what did they think we could do? We were only first years after all. All in all I had begun to settle in to Hogwarts life quite well, however life would take a nose-dive as we celebrated Halloween.

Astoria and I were enjoying the sweets and chocolate laid out for the Halloween feast, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was cheery and the older students were entertaining the first years with exaggerated tales of the troll that had managed to break into the castle last Halloween. Suddenly there were many people whispering and gasping throughout the hall. Curious, I listened in as Malfoy ran up to Blaise, Daphne and Tracey.

"Did you hear, somebody attacked Mrs Norris, left a massive note on the wall too; it was written in blood!"

"Oh Merlin! Do you know what the note said?" Malfoy's face turned nasty and a sickening grin broke out across his face.

"It said the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware!" Malfoy all but cheered, "That can only mean one thing, there's going to be a clean-up around here." He sent a pointed look towards the Gryffindor table to where the muggleborn Hermione Granger usually sat.

"Wait the Chamber of Secrets? " I asked incredulous causing all heads to turn to me, "I thought that was just a myth."

"So did I" admitted Malfoy, "But there was nothing mythical about that note or Mrs Norris."

"I wouldn't be too worried about it," Tracey stated soothingly spotting Astoria's and my worried faces, "It's probably someone trying to pull off a horrible joke."

But Tracey turned out to be wrong; only a few weeks later, the entire school had been at the quidditch pitch for the first match of the season between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I had always enjoyed quidditch but my mood was dampened somewhat by being forced to sit next to Louise who was paying less attention to the actual match and more staring at Malfoy who was participating in his first match for the Slytherin team. I wasn't fancying his chances on grabbing the snitch; his counterpart was Harry Potter who was widely considered, even by highly disgruntled Slytherins, to be the best seeker in the school. And much to Slytherin House's chagrin while they may have had the superior brooms, just over an hour into the match and with a broken arm, Potter caught the snitch. My friends and I sulked back to the dungeons where a few older students had managed to convince the house elves to bring in an assortment of party food so we could eat away the disappointment. After everyone had been sufficiently cheered up and ready to head to bed, the news broke; there had been another attack and this time it was a student.

The student turned out to be Colin Creevey, the boy who Louise had taunted on the first day; the Gryffindors were sombre as they entered the defence classroom a fact that Louise and Stephanie took great pleasure in noticing also.

"It's such a great shame that only one mudblood got caught up in the attack, there are so many more that deserve the same fate." Louise called for everyone to hear.

"Well it's one less dirtying our classrooms and I would say this monster is just getting started." Stephanie added laughing. I kept my eyes on the textbook in front of me, an easier feat if it hadn't been full of the drivel that sprouted from Lockhart; out of the corner of my eye I noticed Astoria trying to do the same but her eyes kept darting towards the developing argument before lowering again.

"What do you know of it Montague? Rookwood? I bet all your lot know who is behind it, I bet they are telling tales about how they managed to petrify Colin in the common room and you all had a good laugh about it, you lot make me sick; so why don't you tell us all whose behind it." Shouted Byrne, I could tell without looking that her eyes were flashing, I could almost feel those same eyes burning into the back of my head but I refused to turn around.

"Why everyone in the SCHOOL knows whose behind it Byrne, it was said that the Heir of Slytherin would return to the school and now it appears they have; honestly Byrne don't you read?" Stephanie drawled.

"I'd imagine anything above picture stories are too advanced for her," Sniggered Louise.

I couldn't help myself, I turned towards the indignant cries of Monica Byrne, her face turning red. I did feel a surge of satisfaction had her embarrassment, I admit I was still feeling a little salty after her unfounded accusations on our first day.

"No wonder you lot are so calm about the whole thing then," Monica scoffed, her eyes now flashing towards me, "It's the founder of your house that started all the hogwash to begin with; Slytherins should have been cast out along with their founder a long time ago, that would be the end to bigotry."

"Says the girl who has just insulted an entire demographic in this school because of the comments of a select few." I drawled, unable to contain what I was feeling anymore, such a hypocrite of a girl, lecturing about bigotry while being a bigot herself, what I hadn't expected was to gain the attention of both houses; I tried to keep my eyes solely on Byrne because I knew if I looked at everyone staring my resolve would fail and I'll be damned if Byrne got away with what she had just said. "In regards to Salazar Slytherin, he came from a time of disastrous co-habitation with muggles which meant persecution and witch burnings; Hogwarts was supposed to be a safe place for children to learn without running the risk of being killed for it, therefore muggleborns telling their families the location of the castle was dangerous, and according to records, there had been an attempted attack on the castle by muggles who had been given instructions on how to get here by a muggleborn student. Whether you agree with Salazar Slytherin's methods of dealing with the dangers is neither here nor there but try not to discuss the thought process of a man who lived in an entirely different time and society, you clearly do not understand an ounce of it so I suggest you go back to your picture books." Ok so maybe I shouldn't have made the picture book comment as a bunch of the Slytherins burst into loud laughter, but Byrne needed to be taken down a peg or two and I did feel a little less guilty when I heard Astoria giggling beside me. Byrne's face had gone almost as deep a red as her hair, luckily I was spared whatever snarky comment I would have had to endure in return with the arrival of Lockhart who appeared to in an incredibly theatrical mood; at least the lesson would be entertaining if not educational.

…..

Tensions continued to grow as we progressed into winter, small fights had begun to break out in the corridors between the students, for the most part Astoria and I managed to avoid them and any repercussions from being from the 'safe house'. As we walked down to the common room one morning we were met with an excited Daphne and Tracey.

"Duelling club, second year's timeslot is this afternoon," Tracey said gleefully pointing to a poster on the noticeboard.

"Should be interesting to say the least, too bad we can't duel you lot, I need to get you back for that last bout of accidental magic; took mum hours to grow back my hair." Daphne grumbled poking her sister in the side.

"I don't think they're even giving first years a timeslot." I scanned the poster seeing no timeslot.

"They barely trust first years to own a wand," Daphne laughed, "Let alone point them at each other."

"You could always come along to ours, obviously you won't be able to participate but I can't see them having an issue with you coming to watch."

"As much as I would love to see you getting thrown on your ass, Daph" Astoria grinned, "We do have to get that essay finished for Flitwick."

"Awe Tori, you ruin all the fun", I laughed, only half joking; I was not looking forward to spending an afternoon trying to make sense of charms. So here we sat in one of the alcoves in the library, wishing we had self-checking quills to finish this disaster of a Charms essay. Astoria was counting the cracks in the wall if the alcove while I was looking at anything other than the parchment when Anthony came speeding over to us.

"Did you hear what happened at the second years duelling club? Draco conjured a snake while duelling Potter, Snape went to get rid of it but then Potter began speaking to it and set it on a Hufflepuff!" We gasped,

"Potter's a Parselmouth?" I whispered in shock, "But that was a Slytherin trait, it was always seen as an honour to have the same gift as Slytherin himself." Astoria looked between Anthony and me warily.

"You don't think, Potter could be the Heir…. Could he?"

"Potter?" Anthony scoffed, "from what Draco says he's incredibly anti-Slytherin; if he's the heir he'll be more disgusted than we would be."

And he definitely appeared to be; Potter was getting taunted from every direction, even from his own house, for what had happened at the duelling club, only the Granger girl and some of the Weasleys stood by him. The eldest Weasley, Percy was too interested in how the situation would affect him so he began to keep his distance and Ginny Weasley was also quiet on the issue; however it wasn't surprising that Ginny was quiet, she never spoke, at the beginning some of us thought Ginny actually believed in what Louise and Stephanie were spouting as she never spoke up like the other Gryffindors but it turned out that she was insulted by them as the rest of her housemates but was terrified of absolutely everything; some Gryffindor she made.

Her terror was felt by everyone however when not long after the duelling club fiasco, Justin Finch-Fletchley, the Hufflepuff Potter set the snake on, was attacked along with the Gryffindor ghost. The attack would not have been too scary, he was attacked the same way as Creevey; but how do you petrify a ghost? Needless to say I all but ran to Professor Snape to put my name on the 'going home for Christmas' list.

On top of the attacks, the corridors had become unsafe, older students had become more violent in their hexes, I had nearly been hit by a particularly nasty hex that caused the victims arms lengthen to past their knees. The hex was meant for a fifth year Gryffindor who hadn't even had to duck the seventh year Slytherin's hex his aim had been so off, luckily Blaise had managed to pull me out of the way, the hex missing my face by a mere inch. By the time the holidays came around, I was more than happy to find myself in one of the horseless carriages on my way to Hogsmeade station.

…..

I hadn't truly realised how much I had missed my family until I was almost pummeled to the ground by my six year old brother Isaac. Isaac to put it simply was a ball of energy; there was never a dull moment with him around with his contagious laughter, something my mother took offence to regularly. Ophelia Fawley was a very conservative woman, her dark hair always tied back in a bun and dressed impeccably even when there was no plans for leaving the house that was never below glistening. My father on the other hand, while could never be called sloppy, compared to his wife he liked a bit of untidiness, Richard was much softer if I had any problems I would sooner go to him than receive a cold lecture from my mother.

Today's lecture was about the friends I had made.

"From your letter to your father, I see you have made friends with the Greengrass girls, a good decision; the Greengrass' are a good family, they have never caused any trouble on either side, keep their cards close to their chest they do. However there was a Zabini mentioned in your letters, they veer towards the purists Clarissa, you should be cautious with him."

"There's nothing wrong with Blaise Mother," I sighed, "He has made it quite clear to me and the Greengrass' that he is not affiliated with anything. Now can I be excused, I need to finish a letter for Astoria." I took her silence as an affirmative and made my escape;

 _Tori,_

 _Thank you so much for the earrings they are beautiful! I'm so glad you liked the leather gloves, you other pair was looking a bit worse for wear. I hope your Christmas has gone well, my mother is making me go barmy, even Isaac can't make her lighten up for the holiday. Are you going to the Flint's New Year's party? Mother says I'm old enough to go now that I'm in Hogwarts; please let me know if you can go, it will be so boring without you and Daphne there._

 _Love,_

 _Clare xx_

So here I was in dress robes picked out by mother, they were a deep blue made of heavy material but no one could say they were not elegant it would only be the best coming from Ophelia Fawley. With one final pin placed in my dark hair we set off for Devon to the Flint's residence. The Flint's New Year's party was an event that no pureblood family could miss and to not be invited was an extreme slight, here along with the Malfoy's Summer Solstice Party was where purebloods made and strengthened their connections and of course to have that feeling of exclusivity. I weaved through the party goers trying to find a glimpse of gold hair, instead I was accosted by Louise Montague.

"Oh Clarissa! Did you hear – what scandal – the Shacklebolts were very nearly uninvited, Marcus overheard his father talking to Mr Malfoy something about old Shacklebolt's eldest son, you know the one in the Auror department? Well apparently he has been very supportive of the raids carried out by that daft department for muggle stuff, it's like he doesn't care how that will affect the rest of us, my father has hidden a few of the more _ah_ shady items away behind an invisible divide in our attic, real nasty business but I suppose the Flint's have to save face and invite them though it doesn't look like anyone's pleased to see them." Louise giggled, I forced laugh while trying to sneakily scan the room for the Greengrasses, Louise didn't seem to notice however as she continued to jump from one piece of gossip to another quite content with my inputs of "hmm" "yeah" "How shocking"

Finally I spotted Daphne hanging around by the food with Blaise, maybe not the Greengrass I wanted but she would do, I made my escape from Louise as quickly and politely as I could before making my way to the food table.

"Sorry Clarissa, Astoria wasn't allowed come, this is actually my first year here." Daphne sighed the moment I got there.

"Oh, that's a shame" I managed to say seriously disappointed.

Blaise smiled kindly at me, "Don't worry about it, you can spend the evening with us, we are intending to stay here and stuff our faces, we have bet you see, how long it will take Mrs Greengrass to disapprove enough of the amount Daph is eating to come over and drag her away for a scolding. I've put five galleons on 10 minutes while Daphne here says three." I laughed along with them looking around for Daphne's mother when I spotted her she was already quite red in the face staring at her eldest daughter.

"I would say a minute and a half" I giggled, Daphne groaned "That woman's a nightmare, thinks I'm going to get fat from one party."

Despite my disappointment that Astoria wasn't there, the party was surprisingly fun and Blaise and Daphne were great company, I was almost sorry to leave. Before we separated however Blaise lowered his voice so no one but Daphne and I could hear.

"I got a letter from my cousin a couple of days ago, he's staying at Hogwarts for the holidays and he overheard Draco talking to Greg and Vince; apparently this is not the first time the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, about fifty years ago it was open and similar attacks were happening but a student actually died, the school nearly closed but they caught the person behind it."

"If they caught the person behind the attacks then they would be in Azkaban," Daphne said, "how could the attacks start up again, the culprit would be imprisoned for life."

"Not if the culprit was a student, they'd be expelled for sure and if they had not completed their OWLs, their wand would have been snapped but if they were under seventeen they wouldn't go to prison."

"That's a scary thought," I said unease seeping in, I had never been more grateful for being a Slytherin and a pureblood, the rest of the school may hate us but at least we didn't have some scary monster trying to pick us off.

….. …..

The uneasiness grew as I headed back to Hogwarts, Astoria and I were joined by Kevin Jansen and Johnathan Pike – the other two Slytherin first years besides Anthony and Zacharias. Out of the first years they were the most tolerable as they didn't seem too interested in any feuds or gossip, they didn't seem too interested in the attacks either.

"No skin off our nose," Kevin drawled, "As long as this monster doesn't start hunting any of us then I'm just going to focus on classes."

It appeared that none of us had to worry anymore as the attacks had seemed to stop; there had been rumours that Hermione Granger had been attacked over the holidays but it turned out that she had just been sick. January passed without any issues whatsoever, other than the usual small arguments that broke out in Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic between Louise, Stephanie and the Gryffindors.

In fact nothing spectacular had happened until February 14th, as we entered the Great Hall, the sight before me made me want vomit, the entire hall was coated in pink! I wiped away pink confetti from the table disgustedly as Professor Lockhart stood to speak about the apparently wonderful holiday even going so far as to tell everyone to ask Professor Snape to brew love potions.

"Yeah right", Draco snorted beside us, "Snape is more likely to poison whoever asks." The table erupted into a fit of giggles as everyone noticed the look on Snape's face as he stared at Lockhart.

The day was a disaster, dwarves dressed as cupids tackling people to the ground to sing poems to, a particularly memorable one was Potter, who had to be forcibly held down to listen to it, the poem itself was ridiculous sent by Ginny Weasley of all people, and here I thought she was too scared to do anything.

Luckily for me I had escaped the embarrassment, Astoria however got caught just as the day was winding down by a very bored dwarf,

 _Blonde hair that shines like the sun and eyes an ocean blue,_

 _You walk with an elegance that no one can compare….._

 _Except for your sister who is better and prettier than you._

"Daphne I'm going to kill you!" Astoria screamed at her sister as the Slytherins burst into laughter watching the younger Greengrass chase after her laughing sister.

"Now girls that's not in the spirit of things," we all turned to see Lockhart standing there with a condescending smile when no one answered, he continued with his usual self-importance tone; "I hope you all enjoyed today's festivities, just what the school needed in these trying times."

"Blaise I will give you ten galleons if you set his robes on fire," I muttered as he strutted away.

"Only his robes?" Blaise snorted, "I'd set fire to his hair for free."

…. …. .

The days past in a blur of classes and the beckoning exams, the lull in attacks bringing the teachers back to their usual selves even when the students reminded teachers such as McGonagall that the exams were not till well after Easter it didn't appear that she trusted us to study for them in the weeks following without constant reminders.

Unfortunately, the past weeks turned out be the calm before the storm. As we sat waiting for the match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor to begin, McGonagall's voice rang out throughout the stadium. "This match has been cancelled, all students will return to their dormitories immediately and wait for your Head of House, do not dawdle."

I shared an uneasy look with Astoria before making our way back. "It must be another attack," Astoria muttered "But they have never made us go back to the dormitories before.

As we entered the common room we quickly spotted Daphne and Tracey and made our way over. The common room was quiet, everyone only speaking in low mutters wondering what exactly had happened. They didn't have to wait too long before Professor Snape entered the common room and the room went silent.

"There has been another attack, this time two students." Whispers rippled through the room but Snape held up a hand for silence.

"In light of this, there will be a set rules for all students with no exceptions: every student will be back in their dormitories by 6pm every evening, all clubs and extra-curricular activities have been cancelled for the foreseeable future, and you will be escorted to and from each class by a teacher. These rules have been put in place for everyone's safety, I advise each and every one of you to abide by them as there will be heavy penalties if they are broken."

"Sir, do you have any idea who's behind the attacks?" a third year piped up.

"There are ongoing investigations being carried out by the teachers and Headmaster Dumbledore, however, if the culprit does not come forward or is not found out soon, it is very likely that the school will be closed. Therefore I would hope that if any of _my_ students knew anything about the attacks or who is behind them they would come forward." Snape cast a sharp look around the room clearly scouting for any guilty expressions; satisfied that he didn't find any he swept out of the room.

"Alright everyone", called Augustus Wormwood, a seventh year prefect, "I'm going to wait ten minutes to make sure Snape is gone and then I will head to the kitchens to get us a bit of a feast, no one but me and the other prefects will be going so I'd advise you all to get comfortable, if any of you break Snape's rules we won't put our necks out again, got it?" He then gathered his prefects in a corner and began planning their operation.

I wasn't feeling particularly hungry and a quick look around proved the other first years weren't either.

…. … .

The term slowly progressed, there wasn't much laughter at Hogwarts anymore, the corridors could be filled with students being escorted to their classes but they remained eerily quiet. The atmosphere at Hogwarts just couldn't get any worse. To everyone's annoyance, Draco seemed to find the whole situation hilarious and delighted in making comments at passing muggleborns, asking were they safe with Dumbledore gone. Hagrid's arrest had certainly raised a few eyebrows, discussions breaking out about how a man very much a part of the school for decades could be behind something like this.

"Oh he has been here for decades alright" Draco had laughed, " _Five decades_ to be exact,"

I stayed with my roommates as much as possible, even Louise and Stephanie were ready to snap at Draco, the threat of the school's closure strong in everyone's mind, all of us hoping that there would be no more attacks.

Of course our prayers went unanswered; I was sitting with Astoria and Kevin playing exploding snap when Augustus Wormwood came sprinting into the common room and shouted up the stairs to the dormitories.

"Everyone come down to the common room, Snape's on his way here, looks like there's been another attack!"

"How could someone have been attacked?" Kevin asked shocked, "Curfew was an hour ago."

"Unless it wasn't a student this time," I suggested, "maybe a teacher?"

A hush fell on the common room as Professor Snape entered with a scarily grim expression.

"There has been another attack," he began solemnly, "A student has been taken by the attacker into the Chamber of Secrets. Due to such an attack, the school has no other option but to close; the Hogwarts Express will be taking everyone home tomorrow." For one dreadful moment, no one spoke as everyone tried to comprehend what they had been told, a student had been taken, and that student was more than likely dead….

"Sir, who was taken?" Draco asked a look that was a bit too eager for anyone's liking.

"Ginny Weasley" Snape stated, "In tragedies such as this we must remember to keep the grieving family in our thoughts." I frowned at the expression on Snape's face, he certainly did not seem sincere; I had always found Snape very approachable, and always give a helping hand to the students, well his Slytherins anyway, I know that many of my House-mates used this to get back at the other houses as Snape was very heavy handed with detentions and taking points but I had always thought that was because he understood how his students were generalised and while probably inappropriate was helping his students fight back. Now however, with him standing there uncaring about a first year's fate, a first year I had been in the presence of every day of school, I got a feeling of dread that he felt the same way as those who brought hatred to the House.

Snape stayed for a while answering as many questions as he could about the situation and tried to comfort those most upset, acting like the Head of House that I had first thought he was but I could not get his bored expression when speaking about a student's death out of my mind. With a final remark that he would allow a momentary lapse in the curfew rules to allow prefects to pick up some food from the kitchens as he knew we had been doing before under the condition that four prefects go together and to not wander off, he escorted the selected prefects out of the common room.

"I think I might just go to bed," Astoria said quietly, looking very green, "I'm not that hungry." I sighed.

"I'll head up with you". We sat on Astoria's bed in silence taking in the news, when it became unbearable I broke.

"I would hate to be in the Gryffindor Tower right now, imagine having to see the Weasleys there and try to comfort them for their loss."

"I wouldn't be able to do it, what could you possible say to them in this situation?" Astoria added before looking curious. "I wonder what's going to happen to all the students here. Where are they all going to go to school?"

"I'll be sent to Beubatons no doubt" I sighed, reclining back onto the pillows, "better brush up on my French".

"It will be Ilvermorny for me, my aunt lives in America and went to school there, they have the House system like Hogwarts because it was started by a Hogwarts Alumni. According to my aunt Thunderbird is the best house but it just doesn't have the same ring to it like Slytherin does."

I gave a faint laugh, "No I suppose it doesn't" footsteps began to stomp outside the door as the rest of the house started to drift up to bed, but I didn't have any intention of moving, nor did I think Astoria minded as she began drifting off to sleep beside me.

… … .

"UP! EVERYBODY GET UP! DUMBLEDORE IS BACK AND HE AS CALLED FOR A FEAST."

I sat up groggily as Astoria stared on confused. "A feast is a bit inappropriate isn't it? I know the school is closing for good and all but it does seem in bad taste."

"Maybe it's because the school isn't closing" We jumped at the sound of fifth year prefect, Odette Rochdale standing at the door grinning; "That Weasley kid was found safe and sound, so come on get up and head to the Great Hall."

It was a strange feast, as everyone turned up in their PJs, most of the students confused; I got immense pleasure from seeing Draco looking so shell shocked.

"He's back? Dumbledore's back? My father made sure the governors fired him!" no one paid him any notice as we tried to figure out what had happened.

"Ernie! Hey Ernie!" Tracey was waving wildly at the Hufflepuff beckoning him over. "Do you know what happened?"

"Apparently Potter and Weasley found the Chamber of Secrets in the girls' bathroom on the second floor and got Weasley's sister out safe."

"The Chamber of Secrets …. Was in a girls' bathroom?" Tracey said faintly looking very pale.

"Well underneath it, but yeah, they killed a massive snake while down there, that's the rumour anyway."

"But who was behind it? Have they been expelled? Arrested?"

"That's all I know," Ernie shrugged before heading back to his own table.

The group was silent as we processed while Tracey was scanning the Gryffindor table. "The Weasley kid's not there."

Daphne looked at her friend exasperated, "the poor kid just got kidnapped to a place no had could find for a thousand years, being tormented by a giant snake; I think I would want some calming potion and a nap if I was in her position wouldn't you?"

Tracey had the sense to look sheepish "yeah I suppose you're right."

The feast continued to well over midnight celebrating the school staying open, the biggest treat came little after 10pm when those who had been petrified began filtering back into the hall. With their arrival Dumbledore stood and announced all exams were cancelled; cheers erupted through the Great Hall everyone hoping that with the end of this term, life at Hogwarts would go back to normal at last.

… … .

Before anyone could blink, we were re-boarding the Express to head home for the summer. Astoria and I sat with Kevin, Johnathan playing exploding snap when Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise stepped into the compartment.

"So not the most conventional first year to have," Daphne said grinning.

Kevin raised his eyebrow, "Is any year at Hogwarts conventional?"

"I suppose not," Daphne laughed, "But here's to hoping."

"You have to come to visit during the summer," Astoria called to me, "I will die of boredom if the only communication I have is through letters."

"What am I dear sister? Chopped liver?"

"You don't count, I see you all the time….. unfortunately."

"I can't see there being a problem," I butted in cutting of the sisterly bickering, "and of course I will expect a return visit."

"Well of course."

"You are all forgetting one thing," Blaise drawled, "The Malfoy's Summer Solstice, we will all be expected to attend."

Astoria groaned, "I wonder if I could feign illness and not go."

"Why would you want to do that?" I asked confused.

Daphne chuckled, "Astoria had a bit of a mishap at last year's one, it involved the chocolate fountain with the tower of marshmallows and the Malfoy's _actual_ fountain…"

"Ok, we don't need to relive it," Astoria cut in looking green, "But you have to escape the hold of your family to spend time with at me so I can avoid future, ah, mishaps."

The journey past in a blanket of laughter, we were safely tucked away in our compartment protected from the ever feuding sides ready to pounce once the door opens.

The mere thought is enough for me to wish that door permanently stayed shut.


End file.
